Promoting diversity through children’s literature
Alumni Achievement Award recipient Nadia L. Hohn’s (BA ’01) writing features Black and diverse representation so that young readers can see themselves in the story
Nadia L. Hohn is an award-winning author, educator, musician, aspiring illustrator, and advocate for diversity in children’s literature. Along with her psychology degree from the University of Waterloo, she holds a BEd and MEd (University of Toronto), and MFA in Creative Writing (University of Guelph). Combining activism with creativity, Nadia empowers Black children to see themselves in literature. Her acclaimed Malaika picture book series captures the joys and challenges of a young girl navigating two worlds. Her biographical works, such as Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter (2018) and A Likkle Miss Lou (2019), honour cultural icons, and she edited and contributed to The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes) (2023). Her most recent works include Getting Us to Grandma's (Oct, 2024) and Patty Dreams (Jan. 2025).
We’re pleased to share an excerpt from Conrad Grebel University College’s recent feature by Jiho Mercer about Nadia.
Writing has always been a part of Nadia Hohn’s life. In her early years, however, turning writing into a career was just a passing thought. “I didn’t have this dream of becoming an author as a child, even though I was always writing,” she remarked. “I didn’t think my work was good enough. I had also never met an author before, nor seen one who looked like me. I had so many doubts.”
Doubts of her writing talents constricted Nadia’s creative potential for many years until one day in 2010, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This life-altering event put her true priorities into perspective. With no time to let doubt continue dictating her life, Nadia used her diagnosis as fuel to set her professional writing career ablaze. Before long, she had made the impossible a reality.
Today Nadia is an acclaimed author, educator, and artivist promoting diversity within children’s literature. She has led more than 100 book presentations at school libraries, bookstores, and literary festivals worldwide. In 2021, Nadia’s book Malaika’s Costume was chosen for the TD Grade One Book giveaway, a program which distributed more than 550,000 copies of the book to Canadian first graders.
A focus of Nadia’s has been to ensure that young children can see themselves in her stories. “I feel extremely proud when my stories resonate with young readers, especially when a marginalized child is finally able to see themself represented on the page,” she said. “This is why writing books featuring Black and diverse representation gives me a tremendous feeling of accomplishment.”
Though Nadia has firmly established herself as a writer, she remains humble and views her success as an honour. “I have the privilege of sharing my stories in schools, libraries, bookstores, festivals, and conferences across Canada and in many places in the world. My stories are shared in books that travel further than I can.”
As a Toronto District School Board teacher, Nadia’s recent accolades include the 2024 Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Anti-Racist and Equity Activism Award. She continues to inspire through her books and global engagements at schools, libraries, and festivals.
Hear more about Hohn's work in the Unchartered: Warriors in the World podcast.